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  “Son of a bitch!” the driver cursed. “I’ll be glad to be rid of that devil spawn.” He rubbed a fresh bandage on his forearm. “I’d watch him when you unload him. He bites and means business when he does.”

  Skyler made no move to approach the trailer. “It’s your job to unload him. He’s not my insurance responsibility until he crosses the threshold of this barn.”

  The driver mumbled something under his breath and motioned to a blond man waiting in the truck. “Come on, let’s get rid of him.”

  Hooves slammed against the side of the trailer again as the two men cautiously opened the back door and stepped inside. The trailer rocked violently, and the blond man backed down the ramp in a hurry as a large Hanoverian charged headfirst after him, teeth bared. The driver yanked on the horse’s lead line as the stallion dragged him across the yard, oblivious to the stud chain digging into the top of his nose.

  “He’s well-named,” Skyler said.

  “Rampage…yes. Jess said he was spirited.” Kate turned around as a white Ford Explorer hurtled down the driveway.

  The vehicle had barely skidded to a stop when the driver’s door opened and a booted foot hit the ground hard, followed by the end of a cane. The young woman who sprang out quickly assessed the situation, then flung her cane down to hurry over and grab the lead line from the struggling man. Elbowing him out of the way, she spoke to the frantic horse in quiet, soothing tones that didn’t match her quick movements and angry ice blue eyes. She turned the big bay in tight circles until he calmed and finally stood still, lathered with sweat and snorting his displeasure.

  The driver spat on the ground and waved his arm in a good-riddance gesture.

  The horse squealed, bared his teeth, and aimed for the nearest flesh—the young woman’s arm. But she dodged his open mouth and grabbed his nose, rubbing it hard. The surprised stallion rolled wide eyes at her and withdrew his head.

  “Still playing that game, huh?” she said firmly. “I’ve got your number, tough guy, and I’m not intimidated.” She turned back to the driver. “I thought I told you to wait until I got here to unload him.”

  “I wanted him out before he hurt himself and tore up my trailer. You’ve got your work cut out for you there, lady,” the man said before heading back to his truck. “Good luck,” he threw back over his shoulder.

  “What does he know, big boy? Dumb jerk got you all worked up,” she muttered as she walked the big horse, watching his legs for any signs of lameness.

  “Jess, Jess, Jess.” Kate smiled. “You never have been one to take the easy way.”

  “Kate, it’s so great to see you.” Jessica moved away from the restless stallion to give her a lingering hug. As she stepped back, Rampage tried once more for a nip at her arm, but she dodged him without turning her head, grabbed his nose again and rubbed hard.

  “I hope he’s a quick study or you’re going to rub all the hair off his nose before he quits biting.” Kate laughed.

  “He’ll learn.” Jessica’s eyes danced. “You should see him move, Kate. I’ll admit he’s more high strung than I would usually take on, and I prefer geldings. But he’s got more potential than I’ve ever seen in a horse.” Her excited words tumbled out. “He’s been trained for advanced dressage, but the people who owned him ignored the fact that he loves to jump. That was their first mistake. Their second mistake was the guy who was riding him didn’t understand him and tried to muscle him. They racked up some good points on the circuit this year, but I think I can get more out of this horse with a different approach.”

  “Whoa, we’ll see.” Kate chuckled. “How about you, kid? How’s that leg coming?”

  Jessica rubbed her thigh. “It’s okay. The therapists keep telling me to slow down, but I’m going to be ready for the trials. You’ll help me, won’t you, Kate?”

  The pleading look was one Kate had never been able to resist, not when she saw it on Jessica’s face, or, as she had many times, on the face of Laura, Jessica’s mother. “I’ll do everything I can, honey, but I won’t help you hurt yourself if your body just isn’t physically ready.”

  Jessica glanced around the riding center complex. It hadn’t changed much since she was here last. Still felt like home. She gave Kate another hug, this time closing her eyes and pressing her cheek into the strong shoulder. Kate felt like home, too. “I’m so glad to be here,” she said with a sigh. “Don’t worry. I’ve made arrangements for a physical therapist to visit me out here twice a week to help strengthen this leg.”

  “That’s fine.” Kate laid her cheek against the top of Jessica’s head. “Oh, honey, I’ve missed you so much.” She was about to ask about Laura when a hideous scream erupted from the Explorer. “Lord! What in the world do you have in your truck?”

  “Oh, that’s Peach. He comes with Rampage. How about grabbing the pet carrier and bring it in the barn. I’ll get Rampage settled.”

  “Second stall on the left,” Kate said. She slid the carrier from the back of the vehicle and hefted it with some effort. “Are you sure you only have one animal in this box?”

  “Yeah, just one. He’s a really big cat.”

  Jessica turned the stallion toward the barn where a lean figure stood slouched against the door frame. The image of muscular thighs, slim hips, and broad shoulders burned instantly into Jessica’s mind. Who the hell was that? Kate had mentioned a trainer she thought would be ideal. She hadn’t included the word “hot” in her description.

  As she led Rampage past the woman, he wheeled and snapped large teeth in the tall stranger’s direction. One second of hesitation and the instinctive sidestep would not have saved her skin from the sharp incisors. But the woman was quick. Rampage threw his front foot out at her and squealed his anger. Jessica yanked his lead line hard to the side, spinning him around and through the open stall door. Hooves rained against the oak boards of the stall.

  “Quick, bring Peach,” she called to Kate.

  Kate pulled a huge orange, battle-scarred tom with one tattered ear from the pet carrier. She slid the stall door aside just enough to shove the cat in with the agitated horse.

  “He’s going to kill that cat.”

  The low, sultry voice sounded very close to Jessica’s ear. Goose bumps raced along her arms and she turned to find herself staring into velvet brown eyes. “No, he won’t.”

  Skyler had to force herself not to hold that stare. Kate hadn’t exaggerated. Jessica Black was certainly a head-turner. Skyler couldn’t help but notice the way the gray riding breeches and short-sleeved polo hugged Jessica’s firm, but feminine frame. Raven-black hair was held back in a loose French braid. Jessica’s eyes seemed even bluer by contrast with her coloring, and something in her stare made Skyler feel a little off balance. It irritated her that the young woman’s gentle, but commanding presence had the cranky stallion, and Kate, instantly eating out her hand. Worse still, Skyler wanted to like her, too, for the same reason. And she hadn’t missed the quick, assessing glance as Jessica approached.

  Skyler frowned. She wanted to gaze into the unusually pale blue eyes once more. That also bothered her. She moved her attention to the stall as the cat yowled like his tail was being trampled. The stallion stopped in mid-tantrum to sniff the demanding feline. The cat rubbed against the horse’s legs and Rampage shifted carefully so he could rub his nose against the cat’s fur.

  “Well, I’ll be!” Kate exclaimed. “I’ve never seen a horse quiet down so quick. Peach? That cat looks more like he should be named Killer.”

  She and Jessica grinned at each other.

  “I don’t want that horse in my barn,” Skyler said, ignoring Jessica’s challenging stare. I don’t want you here either. I don’t need complications in my life. “He’s dangerous. Besides, it’s a waste of time. You can’t take the cat in the ring with you.”

  “Your barn?” Those disturbing blue eyes swept her up and down. “Geez. All this time I thought the center was owned by the Parker family.”

  Kate moved hastily
between them. “Oh, allow me to make the introductions. Jessica Black, this is Skyler Reese, your trainer.”

  Skyler Reese. Jessica turned the name over in her mind. She’d sometimes wondered what had happened to the notorious Ms. Reese after the scandal that made her name taboo around the circuit. “Your reputation precedes you,” she said pointedly.

  Kate shot her a warning look.

  As if to clarify her earlier statement, Jessica added, “You and Con Man were an awesome pair.” Now why did she say that? To spare this woman’s feelings?

  “Your reputation precedes you, also,” Skyler returned stiffly. Her face was unreadable, and, apparently, she wasn’t going to elaborate.

  Jessica turned back to the stall and watched Rampage snuffle his food trough. Anyone who hadn’t been there five minutes earlier would think he was gentle as a lamb. “He’s not dangerous,” she insisted, in full defense mode. “He’s just worked up because of those idiots who trailered him here today.”

  Skyler stared hard at her. Then, with a disgusted snort, she told Kate, “This horse is dangerous, and I’ve got too many of the kids working in this barn. Get one of the other trainers to take him.”

  She turned away abruptly and left the barn. End of discussion.

  Jessica stared after her in shock. It had been a long drive, her leg ached, and she had only months to prepare for the trials. She didn’t need a hassle. Who was this arrogant woman? Had someone finally taken her mother’s place in Kate’s life? Fuming, she muttered, “What a bitch.”

  “Whoa, now,” Kate soothed. “I’ll talk to her. She’ll come around.”

  Jessica wasn’t sure if she wanted a trainer who had to be talked into accepting her. “Maybe you should put me with someone else. I’ve got enough obstacles to deal with. I don’t need a trainer I have to fight every step of the way.”

  “Skyler Reese is the best there is,” Kate insisted. “She’s the best trainer, you’re the best rider, and you say Rampage has the potential to be the best horse on the circuit. She’s been there, Jess. She’s stood on that podium and had a gold medal hung round her neck. She can take you there, too. We’ll find a way for you to work together.” She gave Jessica’s shoulder a little squeeze. “Trust me?”

  Jessica did trust Kate. She’d trusted those merry blue eyes and bearlike hug since she was small child. She had her doubts, but she could see that Kate was determined to help and she respected her views. If Kate thought Skyler was the best, Jessica believed her. “Of course. You’ve never let me down before.”

  “And I won’t this time. You’ll see.”

  *

  Skyler helped a twelve-year-old girl mount a Welsh pony and sent her to join the three other kids posting around the outdoor training ring. “I’m serious about that stallion,” she told Kate. “What would happen if he bit a plug out of one of them and a parent sued the center?”

  “Skyler, every day these kids ride, we risk an accident. I know you’ll take every precaution to warn them about the stallion. And if one of them doesn’t listen and gets hurt, the center is well insured.”

  “Damn it, Kate. You know I have a hard time saying no to you.”

  Kate paid her trainers well and provided them with state of the art equipment. The only thing she, and the center, demanded was that, in addition to the top equestrians they coached and horses they were paid to train, each accepted several youngsters to teach from beginning riding to advanced technique. The program was funded by the center’s endowment and children were chosen through an application process. Some had minor juvenile records and most came with troubled histories at home and at school. The program was free, but the kids were expected to work around the barns, mucking stalls, feeding horses, and cleaning tack to build their character as well as their equestrian skills. It was the same program that had been a refuge for Skyler once.

  “Good. Then I’ll play that card if I must to get my way on this,” Kate said. “I want to help Jessica, Sky. She’s been my heart since Laura and I lived together. I had to pretty much walk out of their lives back then, and I’ll never forgive myself for letting Laura push me away. I can never get those years back that I didn’t spend with Jess, but I want to be there for her this time. Do this for me, please?”

  “I’ll think about it,” Skyler conceded. She rolled her eyes as a final act of rebellion.

  “I’ll count on it.” Kate had never in any way insinuated that Skyler owed the Parkers for anything they had done for her or her twin brother, Douglas, but her tone left no doubt she was calling in that marker now.

  Skyler rubbed the toe of her boot in the dirt. She could imagine what she was condemning herself to. Jessica was a distraction, the kind she didn’t need. Cute. Smart. Great with horses. I bet she gets her way a lot.

  “Looks like this group is coming along fine,” Kate said, changing the topic before Skyler could invent another reason to refuse her. “You’re great with the kids, even though I thought I’d have to hog-tie you to get you to do this.”

  “I wasn’t too sure about working with them in the beginning,” Skyler admitted. “But I guess too many of them remind me of myself at that age. Besides, you can never have enough little grunts around to muck stalls.”

  “Right, tough stuff. And that’s why all the kids love you,” Kate teased.

  “Hey, I don’t need you spreading rumors about how nice I am. It will ruin my reputation.”

  The easy banter between friends was their way of communicating “no hard feelings” from the earlier confrontation. But Kate wasn’t going to let Skyler completely off the hook. “Well, you did a pretty good job upholding your reputation as a hard-ass with Jessica.”

  “That must have been quite a novel experience for her,” Skyler said dryly.

  Kate gave her a long look.

  With a shrug of resignation, Skyler said, “Okay. I’ll do it. But if there’s trouble—”

  “There won’t be,” Kate said cheerfully. “Jess is a professional. And so are you.”

  Skyler stifled the reply she wanted to make, instead calling to a tow-headed girl, “You look like a piston bouncing up and down, Jamie. This is a ballet, a dance. Let the horse’s movement move you. Relax.”

  The girl’s shoulders visibly relaxed and she closed her eyes to shut out everything but the movement of the sorrel Thoroughbred mare she was riding. Skyler smiled. She loved working with the kids. It was the only time she could drop her guard. They didn’t judge her.

  Chapter Three

  Jessica put the last of her clothes away and shoved the suitcase into the closet. Her leg ached and she reached for the pain pills she had been trying to avoid all day. I’ll just take one, she thought. Better go see what was up with Rampage. By now, Ms. Reese might have moved him to another barn. She hesitated and then dropped a second pain pill into her pocket. She limped badly as she headed for the door where she stopped again. Letting out a deep sigh, she turned around and picked up the cane that was propped next to her bed. Her pride didn’t want Skyler to see her using it, but her more practical half told her that she should pamper the knee as much as possible when she wasn’t riding.

  She leaned heavily on the cane, hoping the pain pill would kick in quickly as she trudged down the long drive to the barn. When she entered the cool, cavernous building, her eyes took a moment to adjust from the bright sunlight to the dim interior. A neatly raked dirt hallway was lined on both sides with roomy, twelve-by-twelve stalls that had eight-foot-tall walls, four feet of rough-cut oak at the bottom and four feet of vertical iron bars at the top. The wide hallway was empty except for a young girl pushing a wheelbarrow that contained a muck rake and manure droppings she was cleaning from the stalls. With her back to Jessica, she began to slide back the door on Rampage’s stall.

  “No!” Jessica yelled as the horse squealed and charged toward the opening. She flung herself forward using her cane to push the door shut. The girl instantly dropped to a crouch and threw her hands up to shield her face. At the same time, R
ampage whirled and drummed his hooves against the stall door.

  Heart pounding, Jessica stood frozen as a voice yelled, “What did you do?”

  A hand seized her wrist. Ripping the cane from her hand, Skyler Reese shoved her roughly against the stall. The fury in her face was startling. Pain seared up Jessica’s thigh. Her mouth worked, but no words emerged as she hunched against the rough boards.

  “Did you hit her?” Skyler demanded. She was shaking.

  Jessica glanced down at the trembling girl, puzzled by her defensive reaction. “No, I couldn’t get to the stall door quick enough, so I used my cane to push it shut.”

  Skyler’s dark eyes burned into her for another long minute before she turned to the girl. “It’s okay, Jamie.” Her face and voice softened as she pulled the girl to her feet. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I should have told you not to go in that stall.” She shot another withering look at Jessica. “This lady will clean that stall herself. It’s her ill-mannered horse.”

  Jessica watched, speechless, as Skyler guided the girl into the barn’s office and pulled the door firmly shut behind them. Jessica rubbed her aching leg and took a few slow breaths to gather herself. What just happened here? Well, I guess it was just too much trouble to thank me for saving her butt because she didn’t tell the kids to leave that stall alone.

  She pulled a chair into Rampage’s stall, and placed it in the corner before sliding the stall door shut again and carefully lowering herself onto the seat. She wedged the cane against the chair to use as a prop on which to straighten and rest her painful leg. The big stallion shifted nervously and snorted at the human in his stall. Her confidence obviously puzzled him. He pinned his ears and shook his head. Jessica showed no sign that she’d noticed the display. Shifting to try to find a comfortable position, she reached into her pocket and found the second pain pill. After swallowing it, she worked to push the incident to the back of her mind. She didn’t need the stallion to pick up on her agitation.